A primer on the dueling Fort Ord petitions

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the number of acres reserved for public use on the former military base was incorrectly reported by the Secure the Promise group. In its notice of intent to circulate a petition, the group wrote: "Under the [Fort Ord] Reuse Plan, nearly 28,000 acres at the former Fort Ord, or 85 to 86% of the lands, are reserved for public use." The Fort Ord Reuse Plan, however, says roughly 23,800 acres are set aside for public use.

Each side in a petition fight over a development plan for Monterey County's former military base is accusing the other of attempting to "confuse the public."

While it may not have been intentional, many potential voters are in fact perplexed by what is happening with Fort Ord and the dueling petitions.

Here's a primer on the situation:

What are the petitions?

The petition sponsored by the Fort Ord Access Alliance seeks to keep 540 acres on the former military base from being developed. A counter-petition with a 12-word title wants to make all that land open for development.

Which one supports the veterans cemetery?

Neither petition has any direct say in the proposed cemetery or an adjacent "endowment parcel." The state has already approved the site, so there's very little legal action one could take to stop it.

So why is everyone talking about the cemetery?

To pay for the upkeep and construction of the cemetery, the state gave cemetery organizers the endowment parcel. The idea is they would get money from development there.

The Access Alliance petition would keep the area around the cemetery and endowment parcel from being developed. Supporters of the counter-petition, which has the slogan "Secure the Promise," believe isolating the endowment parcel would doom any development on that land.

Without a successful endowment parcel, there will be no money for a cemetery.

Who is pulling the strings behind the petitions?

The Access Alliance people say the Secure the Promise campaign is being run by backers of Monterey Downs, a proposed equestrian-themed park that includes a controversial horse racing track.

Monterey Downs' current plan is to buy the endowment parcel, which would raise about $1.5 million for construction of the cemetery.

Developers have said they will raise an additional $900,000 to defend the veterans cemetery from legal challenges and are paying for the environmental review of the land.

Beth Palmer, chief operations officer for the Monterey Downs venture, is frequently at the side of veterans at public gatherings.

The Secure the Promise campaign says most of the Access Alliance people are members of Keep Fort Ord Wild, a group that has criticized the location of the cemetery and asserted that the original Fort Ord reuse plan did not include a veterans cemetery.

At a Seaside City Council meeting two years ago, Access Alliance spokesman Jason Campbell complained about how area residents would hear "five or seven taps ... and 21-gun salutes every day" emanating from the veterans cemetery.

Jack Stewart, judge advocate of the United Veterans Council of Monterey County, then stood up and accused Campbell of dishonoring taps.

The argument got so heated a police officer intervened and the meeting was recessed.

Many veterans — and even Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, in a Herald guest commentary — say they have a hard time believing Campbell and other Access Alliance organizers are not trying to stop the cemetery. Access Alliance members have said their interest is in protecting thousands of trees and preventing development of the horse park, not the cemetery.

How are the petition drives going?

The Secure the Promise campaign turned in 20,000 signatures — 3,000 more than needed — on Thursday.

The Access Alliance said later that day it was "more than halfway there" with signatures and confident it would get enough by the September deadline.

Why should I care?

The special election for both petitions will likely cost more than $1 million, according to the Fort Ord Reuse Authority. If you pay taxes in Monterey County, you will be financing this debate.

Democracy prevails! Am I right?

It depends on how you look at it. As a result of state laws, the vote on the proposals will be countywide. That means people in Soledad will have a say in what happens in Marina and Seaside.

Also, it takes control out of the hands of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority board members who were elected to decide the base's future.

Anything else?

There are a few things that both sides use as rallying cries in their petitions:

Access Alliance points out Carmel and Pacific Grove have more park/open space per resident than Seaside and Marina.

The Secure the Promise campaign counters that roughly 85 percent of Fort Ord is already designated as public use. That's 23,800 acres. The campaign also says the reuse plan calls for "commercial economic development ... to replace the contribution to the local economy of the 15,000 soldiers and thousands of civilian employees when Fort Ord was active."

Access Alliance makes note of a 2011 Stanford Research Institute study for Monterey County that recommended "eco-recreation" opportunities to bolster the local economy.

Other parties, meanwhile, are working on plans to turn the Fort Ord National Monument into a destination for hikers and mountain bikers.